Comic-Con 2014 had not even officially opened as tens of thousands of fans poured through its doors for what has become known as "preview night".

It was mayhem as celebrities, fans, retailers and Hollywood executives packed the San Diego Convention Centre for a glimpse of what will come over four days and nights of panels, screenings, presentations and press conferences.

An estimated 125,000 people are expected.

Among the hottest tickets: the 1966-era Batman panel that will reunite actors Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin) and Julie Newmar (Catwoman), and the 1966-era Lego Batmobile, of which 1000 have been made for Comic-Con with only 250 available each day.

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Australia will be well represented at the convention, with actors Adelaide Kane (Reign), Travis Fimmel (The Vikings), Phoebe Tonkin (The Originals) and Emilie de Ravin (Once Upon A Time) attending, plus New Zealand-born actors Grant Bowler (Defiance) and Antony Starr (Banshee).

Director Phillip Noyce is also attending, to unveil his new film The Giver, as well as its Australian star, actor Brenton Thwaites.

And the reboot of the iconic Australian film Mad Max, from the US studio Warner Bros, is being launched at the convention, among scores of films and television programs that will be featured in cast and crew panels, or video presentations to fans.

According to a survey of film fans by the US movie ticketing site Fandango, the five most "buzz"-worthy films at this year's Comic-Con are, in order, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For and Mad Max: Fury Road.

Television also has a vast, and expanding, presence. US studios such as CBS, NBC Universal and HBO are here promoting genre shows such as Reign, Under The Dome, Bates Motel, Grimm and Game of Thrones.

And Warner Bros, the film and television studio, sits as a dominant player on the landscape. It is one of Comic-Con's biggest sponsors, and produces more than 125,000 collectible backpacks for ticket-holders in 13 different designs. (This year's hot acquisition: The Flash, Batman and Gotham-themed designs.)

Warner Bros is also unveiling key new TV series, including the Arrow spin-off The Flash and the Batman franchise "origin series" Gotham, which focuses on the rise of Commissioner Gordon, while Batman's alter-ego Bruce Wayne was still a child.

But while film and television marketing has, to a large extent, overtaken Comic-Con, the more traditional aspects of the convention continue to flourish: a retail floor packed with comic book merchants and toy sellers, and scores of rooms taken over by gamers playing everything from the card game Magic to the newly-launched fifth edition of the iconic roleplaying game, Dungeons and Dragons.

In retail terms, dominant toy brands such as Lego, Mattel and Hasbro are the biggest dots on the landscape, with Comic-Con "exclusive" toys, such as Lego's 1966-era Batmobile, which has already hit online auction house eBay with price tags between $200 and $500.

But there are scores more, and alleyways packed with retailers selling TV and film toys, collectibles, posters, comic book and all manner of miscellany.

The convention, which began in 1970 as a comic book convention with a few hundred fans in a building basement, has in three decades become a major cultural event on the US$35 billion film industry and US$66 billion video game industry calendars.

According to the city of San Diego, the convention injects an estimated US$180 million into the local economy.